


Seeing The Sights

by Salfur



Category: Ustlian Tales - Travis M. Riddle, Waterparks (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Awsten hates the smell of Yspleash, Basically I put the Waterparks boys in Travis's book, Kinda, Probably not what I ended up naming the band, What do you call a fantasy waterpark?, but like if you squint then i guess there's a bit of it here?, first tour, how do I tag this?, tbh i'm not comfortable tagging this a gawsten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:54:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21966004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salfur/pseuds/Salfur
Summary: A faif, a jeorn, and a human are on their first tour across Herrilock. Geoff decided it would be a good idea to make their first stop the city of Yspleash. Awsten is, understandably, displeased by this. It all works out though.
Kudos: 4





	Seeing The Sights

**Author's Note:**

> I'm genuinely surprised no one (to my knowledge) has written a fic for any of Travis's books yet.
> 
> I have, like, 20 Google doc pages of notes on the lore of the world just to write this fic. I don’t think I’ve taken that many notes on a book since high school. Scratch that. I don’t think I’ve taken this many notes on a book _ever_.

The trio approached the tall wall that surrounded the city of Yspleash. Awsten was already gagging at the smell wafting from the city; the mudbrick wall surrounding the centript hive did little to deter the smell. The green-haired faif knew the ungodly stench emanating from the city wasn’t the centripts’ fault, but that didn’t mean he had to be happy about it.

Awsten pulled out the face mask Geoff had insisted they each pack and swiftly put it on. “Why did I agree to come here again?”

“You’re the one who wanted to ‘see the sights.’” Geoff replied, donning his own mask.

Awsten merely grumbled in response as they approached the stable on the wall’s edge. Despite having grown up in Herrilock, the green-haired faif had never left Seroo’s Eye before. This tour would be the first time the three friends would perform outside their hometown together, so Awsten wanted to see as much as he could.

The trio dismounted from the ayote as Geoff spoke to the stable master, a jeorn by the name of Lorrne. Awsten began to think he had made a huge mistake. The faif had vehemently expressed his desire to “see the sights” while Geoff was planning their tour route, but the rank smell that wafted from the city was making him regret his insistent begging.

Awsten looked over to Otto. He also had a face mask on, but unlike him, the jeorn did not appear to be off-put by the smell. He seemed to be content petting Jawn, the ayote they had rented from Seroo’s Eye.

It wasn’t long before Geoff paid Lorrne and, grabbing their supplies, the trio was off. Awsten squinted at the lutenist who was leading them towards the main entrance. Was this even a real destination or was Geoff just messing with them? He wouldn’t put it past Geoff to have chosen Yspleash as their first destination just because he knew the smell would get to Awsten. The green-haired faif regretted not reading up on centripts before agreeing to visit one of their cities. Awsten’s train of thought suddenly left his mind once they entered the city itself.

Despite the smell, Yspleash truly was a sight to behold.

The city appeared to be an amorphous mass, as if someone had poured honey all along the mountainside. Awsten could understand why Geoff had called it a “hive” when describing the city.

Unbeknownst to him, Geoff was smirking under his mask as he watched his friends take in the sight, as Otto was equally enamored. The trio stood at the entrance, taking in the city. The sudden sound of Otto’s stomach growling quickly shifted the mood.

Awsten turned to his two friends, excitement replacing the disgust from earlier. “What’s there to eat around here?”

Before getting lunch, Geoff insisted they check in at the local inn. Awsten and Otto reluctantly agreed to do so, as carrying their supplies around would be cumbersome. Geoff led his companions through Yspleash; the winding streets of the city were easy to get lost in and Awsten was grateful that their bandmate had been here before. The lutenist had traveled around Herrilock before the trio started their band. He had primarily picked up odd jobs along with performing at local inns, rarely staying in one place for too long.

After a few minutes of walking the trio had made it to a cheap inn. The innkeeper looked up from the front desk and, after a quick transaction, directed them upstairs. The boys unceremoniously placed their belongings in their rooms before gathering in the hallway.

“I know that you don’t need to eat much, so I was thinking while Otto and I grab a meal by the plaza, you could scope out a place to set up.”

“I’m alright with that if we stop by a bakery or something later.” While it was true that Awsten didn’t need to eat, as faifs sustained themselves on sunlight and water, he had been craving something sweet for a long while now.

Geoff shrugged. “Fair enough.”

He then led the three of them out from the inn and towards the plaza. Geoff had warned them in advance that it would be busy, since he had scheduled for them to arrive on one of the two days in the month when the marketplace was open. This would mean they could gather a larger crowd, but Awsten worried that the vendors would become irked by them. That fear, however, subsided upon entering the plaza. 

The faif knew the city’s center would be abuzz with activity, but was still surprised by how lively it was. Not only that, but there were a few street performers scattered around. Granted, the performers were closer to jugglers and card magicians than musicians, but it still made him feel better about performing in the plaza.

Geoff and Otto were quick to part with Awsten to find a decent meal. Meanwhile, the green-haired faif made his way through the crowd, keeping an eye out for any spot large enough for their band to perform. It took a considerable amount of time, but he eventually came across a vacant spot nestled on the west side of the plaza. Smiling to himself, Awsten noted the location before returning to where he had last seen Geoff and Otto.

From the corner of his eye Awsten saw Geoff and Otto approach him. “Hey,” he greeted. “How was lunch?”

“My food had rocks in it.” Otto flatly replied.

Geoff chuckled. “I warned you not to get the traditional centript dishes.”

“Well, excuse me for wanting to try something new.” Otto said, rolling his eyes.

The brown-haired human just shook his head before turning his attention to Awsten. “How’d location scouting go?”

Awsten shrugged. “Fine, found an empty spot on the edge of the plaza. It’s a little out of the way, but we should still be able to attract a crowd. Though, I don’t know how much longer it’ll be open.”

Geoff nodded his head. “Alright, let’s check it out.”

It took a longer time meandering back through the crowd than Awsten had expected. The faif worried that someone would snatch their spot from under their noses if they left it alone for too long. Despite this, he took his time, not wanting to get lost.

To his relief the spot was still vacant when they made it back. Geoff and Otto gave it a quick once-over before deeming the location acceptable.

“Alright,” Geoff said, turning to Awsten. “I promised you some sweets. We can grab something real quick from a nearby bakery before heading back to the inn for the instruments.”

“What about the spot?” Otto asked.

“One of us should stay here to watch over it.” Awsten said, looking to Otto.

The jeorn sighed, catching on quick. “Fine, but don’t take too long. I’d rather not get mugged or something.”

“We’ll be back before you know it.” Awsten responded, before following Geoff into the crowd.

Awsten felt a little bad leaving Otto behind, but it wasn’t like they were planning on being gone for too long. As Geoff promised, he led the two of them into a nearby bakery. The faif’s mouth was practically drooling upon smelling the sweet desserts, a much appreciated scent in contrast to the city’s natural stench.

He could have stayed in the bakery all day, but he knew that Otto was waiting for them. Awsten quickly bought the sweetest dessert he could find: a freshly baked baklayv. 

The green-haired faif dreaded this next part as he looked at the sweet treat in his hand. Taking a deep breath, Awsten slid his mask down before biting down on the pastry with a satisfying crunch. He involuntarily moaned in delight, earning a laugh from his bandmate. 

The faif finished the pastry in a few more bites before placing the mask back on. The two then headed back to the inn and gathered their instruments. As none of the songs on their set list required Awsten to play, he ended up carrying Otto’s cajon. Geoff carried his lute as he led them back to Otto.

The trio quickly set up the instruments upon returning to their lone bandmate. The task was laughably easy since they didn’t have much in the way of equipment. Awsten looked back at his bandmates, giving them a nod before turning to look upon the crowd gathered in the plaza.

“Hi everyone! We’re Liquid Oasis and we’ll be performing a few songs for you. This first song’s called Cherry Red.”

The green-haired faif’s initial announcement did little to gather the plaza’s attention, but this was quick to change once they began to perform.

Awsten’s beautiful voice flowed through the plaza, instantly enamoring the nearby townsfolk. A small crowd had gathered around them as the faif continued to sing. He was smiling widely as he saw that people were enjoying themselves, though no one would have known with his mask on.

It was a shame that he had to keep it on during their performance, as it muffled his voice. The crowd didn’t seem to mind, however, and cheered once the song was over. The trio continued to perform song after song, drawing in an even bigger crowd. They had a lot of fun and ended up pulling in quite a sizable audience from the plaza.

The clicking of mandibles mixed with a wave of cheers filled the air as the band finished up their final song, Dream Boy.

“Thank you so much!” Awsten exclaimed, giving the crowd a wave. “We were Liquid Oasis, have a good rest of your day!”

The trio gathered their instruments and hurried away, the crowd still cheering behind them. The rest of the day was uneventful as the boys continued to sight-see until the sun began to set. At that point they were already back at the inn and settling for bed.

The trio was early to rise the next morning as they had to pack their belongings, and headed out to their next destination. Awsten gave the city a final glance as they made their way to the stables.

Awsten doubted they’d be coming back to the centript hive anytime soon. Yspleash was breathtaking, but he didn’t know how much longer he would have been able to handle the stench.

Smiling, Awsten turned to Geoff. “So, where to next?”

Geoff smirked at the faif from atop Jawn, “The world.”

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: I fixed up some grammar issues and finally learned what that box drum is called.


End file.
